Reversible venturi-effect pump

Details Reversible venturi-effect pump Reversible venturi-effect pump

1999-03-05

2001-05-22

Freay, Charles G. (Department: 3746)

Pumps

One fluid pumped by contact or entrainment with another

Liquid pumped by supplying or exhausting gaseous motive...

C417S131000, C137S565220

Reexamination Certificate

active

06234762

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
THIS INVENTION relates to a pump.
The pump is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, a pump for liquids.
The term “liquid” shall be used throughout the specification to include liquids, slurries, flowable powders, flowable granular materials and the like.
The term “container” throughout the specification shall include containers, tins, drums, barrels, tanks and the like.
2. Prior Art
Many different types of pumps have been used and proposed for pumping liquids into, or out of, containers. Examples include gerotor pumps, gear pumps, Roots pumps, vane pumps, and the like.
All of these pumps have the major limitation that they require moving parts which are subject to wear, leading to loss of efficiency and requiring periodic replacement.
In an effort to overcome the use of moving parts, venturi-like pumps have been developed—U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,329,982 (PAYNE) and 3,861,830 (JOHNSON). These pumps employ a fixed venturi and valve(s) to direct pressurized air or vacuum to control the flow of liquid into, or out of, the container. This requires both a pressure source and a vacuum source to operate the pumps.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pump for liquids which has no moving parts.
It is a preferred object of the present invention to provide a pump which can pump liquids both into, and out of, containers.
It is a further preferred object of the present invention to provide a pump which can operate using a single source of compressed air.
Other preferred objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
In one aspect, the present invention resides in a pump suitable for pumping liquids into, or out of, a container, including:
a body;
means to sealably engage the body with an inlet hole of the container;
liquid passage means in the body operably connectable to the interior of the container and to the exterior of the body;
an air passage through the body operably connectable to the interior of the container;
a venturi means in the air passage having a plurality of air ports operable to generate a vortex in the air passage; and
compressed air passage means to connect the air ports to a source of compressed air (or gas);
so arranged that:
the venturi means is movably mounted in the air passage to selectively reverse the air flow through the air passage to either at least partially evacuate, or pressurize, the container, to pump the liquid into, or out of, the container.
Preferably, the venturi means is mounted in a ball, selectively rotatable by a handle, in the manner of the ball of a ball valve.
In a second aspect, the present invention resides in a pump suitable for pumping liquids into, or out of, a container, including:
a body;
means to sealably engage the body with an inlet hole of the container;
liquid passage means in the body operably connectable to the interior of the container and to the exterior of the body;
an air passage through the body operably connectable to the interior of the container;
a pair of venturi means in the air passage, each venturi means having a plurality of air ports operable to generate a vortex in the air passage, the venturi means being arranged to cause respective air flow through the passage in opposite directions; and
compressed air passage means to selectively connect the air ports of one of the venturi means to a source of compressed air (or gas), so arranged that:
the venturi means are selectively connected to the source of compressed air to selectively reverse the air flow through the air passage to either at least partially evacuate, or pressurize, the container to pump the liquid into, or out of, the container.
Preferably, float means are provided to selectively close the air passage, and thereby shut off the pump, when the level of the liquid in the container exceeds a preset limit.
Preferably, the or each venturi means has a plurality of air ports spaced around and/or along the air passage to generate the vortex in the air passage, to generate the air flow through the air passage, and thereby pressurize or evacuate the drum. The number and location of the air ports may be dependent on the pressure of the compressed air and on the nature of the liquids to be pumped.
The venturis may be designed to highly multiply the pressure of the air from the compressed air source, eg., by up to 50-100 times.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3861830 (1975-01-01), Johnson
patent: 4029066 (1977-06-01), Iwasa
patent: 4335062 (1982-06-01), Kobayashi
patent: 4511291 (1985-04-01), Quates, Sr. et al.
patent: 5007803 (1991-04-01), DiVito et al.
patent: 5033914 (1991-07-01), Wuertele et al.
patent: 5427505 (1995-06-01), Payne
patent: 5615716 (1997-04-01), Akazawa
patent: 5938408 (1999-08-01), Krichbaum

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